Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

Category: Lauren Morrill

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young ReadersRelease date: November 13, 2012Pages: 256Summary: Julia takes a ten-day class trip to London, but none of her friends are along for the ride. The only familiar face is Jason, an alleged playboy with a tendency to tease. So of course Julia is paired up with Jason for the duration of the trip: the “buddies” have to do all their sightseeing together. But Jason helps bring out the wild child in Julia—for better or for worse.Meant to Be Lauren MorrillI think sometimes predictability and cheesiness work out in cute novels. I’m so excited for this one since I don’t think I’ve curled up with a solely feel-good romance YA since Anna and the French Kiss, so I can’t wait! 🙂My thoughts: Meant to Be would make an excellent rom-com movie. It has a charming, plucky heroine and a sexy bad-boy who are clearly perfect together, but they just can’t see it themselves. Plus, there’s humor, and—how could I forget?—the story is set in London. (Seriously, this book is making me so pumped to have my own London adventure in January. Yay for personal connections!)Lauren Morrill’s writing is so fun to read: it’s quirky—infused with some funny and tons of sweet. Meant to Be has a lot of heart, and this is definitely due to Morrill’s grasp of the teen voice. Julia is basically my soul-sister, organizational tendencies and Shakespeare obsession included, and reading her narration feels like chatting with an old friend.And don’t get me started on the romance! Meant to Be has enough sexual tension to fill two novels. The concept of a MTB is pretty cheesy, but the way it ties into the story—and the romance—is very cute. I know readers will be very satisfied with the romance in Morrill’s debut.The only thing preventing me from giving Meant to Be a five-star rating is its predictability. With the romantic-comedy scene occasionally comes tropes. Morrill does her best to avoid them, but sometimes you just know what’s coming.Get yourself a cup of nice tea and don’t forget to read a couple of pages before going to bed. I can’t wait to buy a new novel.4/5 starsFor those who like: Romantic comedies, European settings, travel adventuresComment question: What’s the first place you’d visit in London?